Community Reviews

Summary:Young Jesse Morgan was always the hero of his imaginary adventures. But when a real-life act of heroism appears to go terribly wrong, he flees New York City for the anonymity of the wide open plains. Little does he know he is being followed. Close on his heels is Emily Austin, who knows what really happened in New York; Clara, Jesse's mother, who risks dangers to find her son; and Richard Tykas, a private detective who knows that when he finds Jesse he'll find his real prey- Emily AustinSummary:Young Jesse Morgan was always the hero of his imaginary adventures. But when a real-life act of heroism appears to go terribly wrong, he flees New York City for the anonymity of the wide open plains. Little does he know he is being followed. Close on his heels is Emily Austin, who knows what really happened in New York; Clara, Jesse's mother, who risks dangers to find her son; and Richard Tykas, a private detective who knows that when he finds Jesse he'll find his real prey- Emily Austin. But closest of all is God, whom Jesse has struggled to trust ever since a childhood tragedy. Plot:The plot had some good potential, but sometimes i was rolling my eyes at the stupidity of where the story was going. The first 250 pages was torture for me, I was just so bored. After I was past the boring parts, it started getting interesting and there was many plot twists. Some of the twists were expected, and the ending was extremely predictable. Even though I knew what was coming, it was still enjoyable to "find out" what happened. Writing:I thoroughly enjoyed Jack Cavanaugh's writing style. It was complex, and easily understood. I started to really love his writing towards the ending. Characters:At the beginning, I HATED Jesse. I viewed him as a 12 year old, because he was so immature. It took me awhile to start looking at him as as a 22 year old. It was kind of annoying, because Emily had just taken one look at Jesse, and already was dreaming of becoming his wife. Like, Insta-love much? Thankfully, there was many bumps in the road in their relationship. Overall:It was an enjoyable read, but the beginning was terrible for me. Thankfully, it started to get pretty good towards the end. Recommendations:I would recommend this to 12+. It was definitely slow at some points, but it easily picked up....more

Jesse Morgan grew up on the lower east side of New York City. He and his mother had struggled to live since his father died in a fire. For years now she has been sewing piece work in her home and Jesse works at a glass factory which employs many children. When not at work he is aggravated by bullies on the streets. It was during an altercation with those bullies that Jesse met Emily Barnes. When she gave several blasts on her whistle they thought the police had arrived to grab them.Emily has wanJesse Morgan grew up on the lower east side of New York City. He and his mother had struggled to live since his father died in a fire. For years now she has been sewing piece work in her home and Jesse works at a glass factory which employs many children. When not at work he is aggravated by bullies on the streets. It was during an altercation with those bullies that Jesse met Emily Barnes. When she gave several blasts on her whistle they thought the police had arrived to grab them.Emily has wanted to become a reporter. Her job using a typewriter and her unofficial research into unlawful practices by local companies were good experience for this. So when Jesse met her again on a steamboat she was interviewing the captain for an exciting newspaper article about him.Actually, Jesse left N.Y. on the run from the police. So began his journey west. Whatever jobs were available, he did. He travelled by foot, raft, steamboat, covered wagon, horse and railroad. A hero of dime novels was his "guide" when he met with a challenge or decision to make. What would Truly Noble do? Jesse's aunt was the author of these stories which he had been reading and enjoying when not working or running from neighborhood thugs.Jesse's reason for leaving home was his secret. Emily's secret was her identity. Because of her parentage, she and Jesse found themselves running from a kidnapper. The secret of all this, ironically, involved a Utopian community. These many secrets finally must come to light as Jesse grows along with the country.

This book is very good, but I didn't enjoy the protagonist at the beginning of the novel. I thought he was about 11 years old, but actually, he was 19. Ouch. Also, I am not a big fan of pioneers or the conquest of the west, however, learning about the tenements in NYC, the progression from steamboat to train, and prairie lifestyle was very interesting.

I was slightly disappointed with this story. I love the action that comes with height of the pioneer experience and the author puts the people at the end of the "rush to the West". It is still a very good story, but not quite what I was expecting.

Jack Cavanaugh is an award-winning, full-time freelance author with twenty-five published novels to his credit. His nine-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of a nation from 1630 to the present and is still in print nearly fifteen years following its release.

A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teaJack Cavanaugh is an award-winning, full-time freelance author with twenty-five published novels to his credit. His nine-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of a nation from 1630 to the present and is still in print nearly fifteen years following its release.

A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers conferences. He is the former pastor of three churches in San Diego County and draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his plots and characters.

His novels have been translated into a dozen foreign languages, largely because of the universal scope of his topics. Jack has not only written about American history, but about South Africa, banned English Bibles, German Christians in the days of Hitler and Communism, revivals in America, and angelic warfare.

Jack’s current writing schedule includes motion picture screenplays and e-book serial fiction with Internet distribution. His novel Death Watch has been optioned to be made into a motion picture by Out Cold Entertainment, Inc.

Jack has three grown children and lives with his wife in Southern California.